Detmold, Campbell Arnotts, Australia Post and CHEP were among the top winners at the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation awards announced in Sydney last night.
Public awareness of packaging waste is at an all-time high. Media channels are giving extensive airtime to the single-use plastic bag debate, the China Ban, and the crisis of plastic waste in our oceans. At the same time, governments and brand owners both here and abroad are pledging commitment to the much-lauded 2025 target (to make all packaging 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable).
Against this backdrop, an awards event giving recognition to organisations making significant progress in sustainable packaging design, recycling initiatives and product stewardship programs is both fitting and well-timed.
Last night in Sydney, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) celebrated the achievements of 14 Australian organisations from a broad range of sectors, including manufacturing, retail, transport, technology, hospitality and pharmaceutical at its annual awards evening. Some of Australia's most recognised brands were on the list, including Qantas, Campbell Arnott’s, Telstra and Optus.
Brooke Donnelly, APCO CEO said: “All of the winners and finalists of the 2018 APCO Awards have demonstrated that no matter where their business sits within the packaging supply chain, there is always the opportunity for positive change.
“With the 2025 target ... now in focus, industry collaboration and innovation have never been more important. Tonight’s award ceremony [is] an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of organisations that are leading the way in making this target a reality,” Donnelly said. “We look forward to continuing to work with them in close partnership, in order to share the innovation, learning and insights required to build a circular economy here in Australia.”
Packaging manufacturer Detmold Packaging took out the coveted Sustainable Packaging Excellence Award, commended for its innovation and collaboration with customers and researchers to work towards sustainable packaging. APCO's citation read: "With a consistent overall on-site waste recycling rate of 85-86%, Detmold was also successful in developing closed-loop collaborative projects for sustainable recycling solutions."
Other award recipients included Campbell Arnott’s Australia (Outstanding Achievement in Packaging Design Award), who in 2017 implemented mandatory sustainability training for its internal packaging team, Australian Postal Organisation (Outstanding Achievement in Industry Leadership Award), which now has a 100% recyclable packaging range, following the introduction of a take-back scheme and the adoption of the Australasian Recycling Label, and CHEP Australia (Outstanding Achievement in Sustainable Packaging Operations Award) whose share and reuse model maximises the use of pallets, crates and containers, enabling their customers unique access to a circular economy.
Commenting on Campbell Arnott's win, director of Packaging Development Asia Pacific, Liza Vernalls said: “This award demonstrated Campbell Arnott’s commitment to packaging sustainability. It has been a great achievement from our packaging team, with full support from our leadership and manufacturing teams, together with the strong partnerships with our suppliers giving us such great results in a short period of time.”
Winning companies of the 13 industry awards were:
CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND FASHION
Redback Boot Company
ELECTRONICS
Kyocera Document Solutions Australia
FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Campbell Arnott’s Australia
PACKAGING MANUFACTURER
Detmold Packaging
PHARMACEUTICAL
Amgen Australia
HOMEWARES
ACCO Brands Australia
TRANSPORT & AIRLINE
Qantas Airways
CHEMICALS AND AGRICULTURE
LyondellBasell Australia
TELECOMMUNICATIONS (Joint)
Telstra Corporation &
SingTel Optus
LARGE RETAILER
Super Retail Group
MACHINERY AND HARDWARE
Tasman Sinkware
PERSONAL CARE
Integria Healthcare (Australia)
LOGISTICS
CHEP Australia
The winning companies of the four Outstanding Achievement Awards were:
SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING EXCELLENCE
Detmold Packaging
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP
Australian Postal Organisation
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING OPERATIONS
CHEP Australia
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN PACKAGING DESIGN
Campbell Arnott’s Australia
APCO works with government and industry to reduce the harmful impact of packaging on Australian communities by moving towards a circular economy. It is the organisation charged by government to make all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. APCO currently has over 1100 members, all working towards improving packaging sustainability.
